Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10,1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,028 feet (roughly the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly to the top, unaware that the sky had begun to roil with clouds...

Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed Outside journalist and author of the bestselling Into the Wild. Taking the reader step by step from Katmandu to the mountain's deadly pinnacle, Krakauer has his readers shaking on the edge of their seat. Beyond the terrors of this account, however, he also peers deeply into the myth of the world's tallest mountain. What is is about Everest that has compelled so many poeple--including himself--to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense?

Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.

Jon Krakauer is a part-time mountaineer and a full-time writer. He is a contributing editor at Outside magazine and writes for many national magazines and newspapers. He lives in Seattle, Washington. "From the Paperback edition.

Teen Ink

Entertainment Weekly

On May 10, 1996, writer Jon Krakauer found himself quite literally on top of the world and less than 24 hours away from a tragedy that he says is ''likely to haunt me for the rest of my life.'' Two months earlier, Outside magazine had sent him to Nepal to climb Mount Everest on a guided exped...

The Telegraph

As I went down, I felt the probability I would die was 100 per cent â 120 per cent, even.â Yuichiro Miura, exhausted, struggling to breathe, and with his heart fading, thought he had taken his final steps as he descended from the summit of Everest.

Pajiba

whether or not you think he was fair in his descriptions will only provide you with a closer view of the ordeal, and I like to think that while he no longer allows anyone to question him on the disaster, Krakauer would appreciate additional perspectives.

Brothers Judd

BookRack

These passages add an intriguing dimension to such people – people who cannot be pinned down with adjectives, who would give up their lives, fight natural disasters and physical ailments – only to conquer an ideal which appeals to their souls – however lofty, radical and insane it may sound to ot...

https://thechicagolibrary.wordpress.com

Still, Krakauer spurs an important debate on whether commercial future climbing expeditions to Mount Everest should be allowed – in fact I think that question is far more important and urgent than the question of who was to blame for the 1996 disaster, because as Krakauer notes, “To believe that ...